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Justice News

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Northern District of Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Panama City Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Tax Fraud

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Anthony Q. Atkinson, 31, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced today to serve 37 months in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns using the personal identifying information of other individuals. The sentence imposed by the court was announced by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Pamela C. Marsh.

Atkinson and others were involved in a tax scheme whereby they conspired to file false federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service claiming refunds to which the defendants knew they were not entitled. As part of the scheme, conspirators would provide the personal identifying information of other individuals to Atkinson, who would then file false tax returns for each of those individuals. The returns transmitted in this scheme have notable similarities, including fabricated taxable interest income and names of financial institutions, false amounts of Social Security income, and fabricated amounts of tax withholdings. As a result of the scheme, Atkinson and others caused the United States Treasury to pay approximately $23,496 in fraudulent income tax refunds, which Atkinson was ordered to pay back to the Internal Revenue Service as restitution.

Atkinson was also sentenced to serve a 3-year term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $900 special monetary assessment.

This conviction results from an investigation by agents of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Risinger.